Hills Industries
 |
|
| Public | |
| Traded as | ASX: HIL |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Founder | Lance Hill, Harold Ling |
| Headquarters | Sydney, Australia |
|
Key people
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Jennifer Helen Hill-Ling(Chairperson), David Lenz(CEO) |
| Website | www.hills.com.au |
Hills Limited (Hills) is a publicly listed technology solutions company (ASX: HIL) with branches across Australia and NEW Zealand. focused on delivering products that connect, entertain and secure people’s lives. Hills is the evolution of Hills Hoist Ltd, the company founded by Lance Hills and Harold Ling in 1948 to manufacturer the Hills Hoist clothesline. Today Hills is a value-added distributor of technology products and services including security and surveillance solutions, audio visual, IT, communications and health solutions.
The origin of Hills Limited dates back to 1945, when Lance Hill invented the Hills Hoist, a height-adjustable rotary clothes line. Together with his brother-in-law, Harold Ling, Hill manufactured the clothes lines in his backyard in Glenunga, South Australia, before moving production to a nearby factory. Hills Hoists Ltd was formed in January 1948, with Hill as chairman and Ling as a director and by 1954, the factory had relocated to a larger site and was producing six hundred hoists a week and supplying branches throughout Australia.
In 1956, Hill retired due to ill-health, and Ling took over as chairman. During the 1950’s, Hills Hoists Ltd expanded its business into New Zealand and the United Kingdom, opening a factory in Auckland in 1958 and in Caerphilly, Wales in 1959. Simultaneously, the factory in Australia was diversifying into the production of other metal products, such as playground swings and folding chairs.In particular, Hills was pioneering the development of the television antenna, so that by 1957 Hills Hoist Ltd was Australia’s largest manufacturer of rotary clothes lines and one of the largest producers of television antennas. In 1958, Hills Hoists Ltd became a public company – Hills Industries Limited – and in the following years, entered into the TV service market, providing antennas, their installation and connection.
In 1967, Hills Industries Limited officially opened its first purpose built metal tubing factory at Sullivan Beach in South Australia, and in 1969, acquired automotive component manufacturer Hitchin & Hallett Pty Ltd, and began to produce automotive exhaust systems.
Throughout the seventies, Hills kept pace with the rapid social and market changes of the era, expanding its range of consumer products, including children’s play equipment and homewares. By 1971, Hills had taken a leading position in the specialist TV market, as one of the few companies capable of handling both master and community antenna systems, and by 1985, Hills was the industry leader in TV antenna sales and technology, exporting its product to South East Asia and the Middle East.
During the eighties and nineties, Hills divested itself of its automotive components business, but continued to diversify its portfolio. In 1986, Hills bought 46% of Korvest, a manufacturer of cable and pipe supports, and in 1987 acquired Direct Alarm Supplies, embarking on a new focus on security and surveillance.
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